TOKYO: Typhoon Dolphin lashed Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture on Saturday, injuring six people and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings, while China shut ports and halted ferries ahead of the storm’s expected arrival on its east coast.

Five elderly people, three of whom fell due to strong winds, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in Okinawa while another person was injured in Kagoshima prefecture.

Nearly 39,000 buildings were without power in Kagoshima while over 12,000 were affected in Okinawa. Domestic airlines, ANA and Japan Airlines, cancelled flights to and from Okinawa.

Ports shut in China ahead of landfall

The typhoon had maximum sustained winds of 162kph with gusts reaching 216kph. Okinawa and Amami island, in Kagoshima prefecture, are the main areas expected to be affected in Japan.

Landfall in China

In China, where the typhoon is expected to make landfall between late Sunday and early Monday, authorities have designated Dolphin as an orange-category typhoon, the second-highest level.

Worried about the risk of flooding and landslides, authorities also raised the emergency response level for Dolphin by one notch to level III, the second-lowest level.

The typhoon is most likely to make landfall between Zhoushan city, in Zhejiang province, and Fuding city, in Fujian province, and is expected to have winds of 130-160 kph near its centre.

Ports, airports halt operations

Rain and strong winds are expected to affect eastern China through Aug 12, including parts of Shanghai and neighbouring provinces. Some areas could see short bursts of rainfall exceeding 80 millimetres an hour, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds.

Zhejiang, one of China’s biggest provincial economies and a manufacturing and export hub, raised its coastal typhoon alert to its highest level and halted port operations. Authorities in eastern and southern China suspended ferries, halted some construction work and ordered fishing boats back to port.

Ningbo Lishe International Airport in Zhejiang said it would suspend all flights on Sunday. Shanghai’s Yangshan port had been cleared of vessels by late Friday.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026